The Dance
by XiaoBai
Summary: A new type of competition is introduced into the Layer for the sake of someone's brother...but he doesn't know! Misaki wants to join, but Hatoko get someone else for her instead...MO First try. PLease be kind, RR


Disclaimer: Clamp owns Angelic Layer!! _  
  
Note: This fic is my very first Angelic Layer fic. So.if there is something wrong, please do not blame me! Besides that, I'm not very familiar with dancing and music...so if there are any errors, please feel free to point it out.  
  
Special thanks to my dearest sister and Lya-san! My sister provided me many ideas for this fic while Lya-san is my beta-reader!!!  
  
Oh, one more thing, this fic follows the anime and Oujirou still hasn't tell Misaki about his feelings.  
  
--  
  
Ichiro raised an eyebrow as he heard his brother sigh for the 40th time. Tilting his head slightly to the left, he eyed his brother curiously.  
  
Oujirou was looking rather...out of it, with his head propped up by his hands and his face was slightly flushed.  
  
Ichiro was really curious by now.  
  
'Oujirou is day dreaming?' He thought to himself. Raising another eyebrow, he sneaked a peek at Oujirou again.  
  
The Prince of the Layer had his head supported by a single hand now, his other hand drawing doodles on a piece of paper which was supposed to be for his school assignment. After another minute of drawing, Ichiro snapped his fingers and Oujirou jerked. He stared at his 'essay' for a few moments before groaning.  
  
" Oh no..." Oujirou muttered to himself. He crushed the piece of paper, took out another piece and sighed once again.  
  
Ichiro had a small smirk on his mouth as Oujirou started doodling again.  
  
' Aha! Oujirou is in love.'  
  
--  
  
The Dance.  
  
--  
  
By: XiaoBai  
  
--  
  
The moment Ichiro stepped into the headquarters everyone knew that he had something up his sleeve. Ogata recognized these signs VERY WELL because Chief Ichiro was very mischievous on these days. The others noted this as well due to the fact that their salary will be at bay if someone said something wrong.  
  
Therefore, everyone stopped his or her work at once.  
  
" Ohayo, minna!" Ichiro said cheerfully, " I got a new idea today!"  
  
Everyone became cautious at once and glared at Ogata. The poor worker began to sweat as his colleagues pressured him silently to question the Chief. Swallowing, Ogata asked slowly, " Ano Chief, what idea do you have?"  
  
Ichiro laughed, " It's a dance competition!"  
  
Ogata raised an eyebrow and muttered, " Huh?"  
  
Ichiro responded immediately by slapping Ogata with his huge paper fan, " BAKA! We are organizing a DANCE COMPETITION for the ANGELS!"  
  
Yuuko raised her hand timidly, " Chief, can you explained in detail?"  
  
Ichiro nodded, grabbed one of the chairs and sat down.  
  
" Our newest job is to organize a dance competition for the Angels. Deus had to work in pairs in order to enter the competition, or else they will be disqualified. No foul play is allowed, of course and those who cheated will be disqualified at once." Ichiro said happily.  
  
" But Chief, why do we have to organize this suddenly?" Ogata asked, still holding his head painfully. Ichiro glared at Ogata immediately, took out a bunch of hair ribbons and grabbed Ogata.  
  
" 'The Wrong Answer' Game, Ogato. Use the hair ribbons to tie up every single strand of hair on your head and walk around the headquarters for...ONE HOUR!" Ichiro said, handing the ribbons to Ogata.  
  
Ogata stared at the ribbons, then at Ichiro and then back at the ribbons again. He sobbed and took them, " Hai..."  
  
After Ogata left with his wails, Ichiro continued, " Now with the big-mouth idiot out of the way, I'm gonna tell you guys the main objective of this dance."  
  
-- --  
  
Yuuko gasped, " Oh..."  
  
Ichiro winked at his staff, " Don't tell anyone! I got this information after weeks of following the target around secretly."  
  
His staff nodded and grinned, " Hai, Chief!"  
  
Ichiro nodded in satisfactory and said, " Now, the dance competition is also to make Angelic Layer more interesting. This way, the Deus won't feel bored! After all, the Kantou Competition is still very far away."  
  
" Hai, Chief. So shall we begin our preparations?"  
  
--  
  
One Month Later  
  
--  
  
" Ah! A Dance Competition!" Misaki said happily, pointing at the poster on the display board in front of Piffle Princess.  
  
" 'Deus to participate in pairs...'" Hatoko said, reading the poster, " Ne, Misaki-chan, we can participate!"  
  
Misaki smiled, " Un! Shall we register for it now?"  
  
Hatoko was thoughtful for a moment, before gasping suddenly. Misaki blinked, " Ne, Hatoko-chan?"  
  
Hatoko had a small smirk on her lips, " Ano, Misaki-chan, I think I cannot join the competition with you. Suzuka seemed to have some problems recently. I am getting her fixed...so, gomen nasai, Misaki-chan."  
  
Misaki looked a little disappointed, " Oh..."  
  
" But," Hatoko continued, " I can get another person to participate with you, Misaki-chan."  
  
Misaki blinked again, " Ah?"  
  
Hatoko smiled, " You will know tomorrow, okay? I have to ask the person first."  
  
-- --  
  
" Hello?"  
  
" Konbanwa, Oujirou-san." Hatoko said.  
  
" Ah, Hatoko-san, konbanwa. Do you have any problems?" Oujirou asked.  
  
Hatoko nodded to herself, " Un, I have this slight problem. No, I should say 'we' have a slight problem."  
  
" We? Who?" Oujirou said sounding rather confused.  
  
Hatoko laughed a little, " Did you saw the poster at Piffle Princess, Oujirou-san? Or did you brother told you anything?"  
  
" No. I did not walk past it today. And 'Niisan did not tell me anything...." Oujirou said.  
  
" There is a Dance Competition for the Deus and Angels, Oujirou-san. But the Deus have to join the competition in pairs." Hatoko said.  
  
" Uh-huh..." Oujirou said slowly.  
  
" Misaki-chan was wanting to partner with me at first, but Suzuka is repairing right now...So, I was hoping you could help." Hatoko continued.  
  
Oujirou was silent for a few minutes before exclaiming, " NANI?! Misaki- chan and-and me?"  
  
Hatoko smiled and looked at her Suzuka, which was currently sitting peacefully on the table, " Yep. Besides, I think Misaki-chan will be very happy... She looked so disappointed when I said I couldn't join..."  
  
" Ano..." Oujirou said weakly, " I can't--"  
  
" Oujirou-san." Hatoko said firmly.  
  
" Yes?"  
  
" Do you care for Misaki-chan?" Hatoko asked suddenly.  
  
" ...Yes, as a friend I do." Oujirou said.  
  
" Do you want to see her happy?" Hatoko asked again.  
  
A sigh was heard, " Yes, Hatoko-san."  
  
Hatoko smiled, " Well, then you should join with Misaki-chan. She will be ELATED!"  
  
Another sigh was heard, " All right..."  
  
" Arigatou, Oujirou-san! If it is all right for you, please come down to Misaki-chan's house tomorrow at 10 am. We are going to register!"  
  
" Okay, Hatoko-san." Oujirou said sounding rather defeated.  
  
" Ja ne!"  
  
With that, she put down the phone and smiled gleefully. Patting Suzuka's head, Hatoko said, " Gomen, Suzuka, but this is for the happiness of someone."  
  
--  
  
A rather nervous Oujirou arrived at Misaki's house punctually at 10 am the next day.  
  
" Ah! Oujirou-kun, welcome!" Misaki greeted him happily. Oujirou pushed back his nervousness and smiled, " Ohayo, Misaki-chan."  
  
Misaki let Oujirou into the house and closed the door, "Hatoko-chan is here already." She smiled, " Oujirou-kun, arigatou!"  
  
Oujirou blinked, " Ah?"  
  
Misaki laughed a little, "Hatoko-chan said you can enter the competition with me in her place! I'm so happy!"  
  
Oujirou blushed a little and smiled back, " It's nothing, Misaki-chan. As long as you are happy..."  
  
Hatoko chose this moment to appear from Misaki's bedroom, smiling, " Oujirou-san! I was rather worried that you wouldn't come."  
  
Oujirou felt like glaring at the little girl right now. Instead, he managed a smile, " How could you say that, Hatoko-san? You know *very* well that I would come."  
  
Hatoko nodded rather smugly and began walking to the door, " Okay, since Oujirou-san is here, let's go to the Piffle Princess!"  
  
Misaki nodded, " Un!"  
  
Oujirou gave another quiet sigh.  
  
--  
  
" Ano, is this the register counter for the dance competition?" Hatoko asked. The receptionist smiled, " Yes. Do you want to register? You will need another partner, you know."  
  
Hatoko smiled and pointed her thumb behind her, " Ah, not me. They are registering." She turned around and said, " Misaki-chan, you should take over."  
  
Misaki nodded and moved forward, " We are taking part in the competition."  
  
The receptionist nodded and said, " Names of the Deus and Angels please."  
  
" Deus Suzuhara Misaki and Deus Mihara Oujirou." Oujirou said, " Angel Hikaru and Angel Wizard."  
  
The receptionist blinked, " Oujirou-san and Misaki-san? Well, well, this will be interesting." She smiled at the two of them and passed Misaki a piece of paper, " This is the form you have to bring on the competition day. You have to write your performance item on it and pass it to the person-in-charge there. There will be three rounds and each round will have a different dance theme."  
  
" What is the theme for the first round?" Hatoko asked. The receptionist smiled, " Classical."  
  
" Classical?" Misaki wondered.  
  
The receptionist nodded, " That means whatever item you do, the dance have to go with the piece of classical music you choose."  
  
Oujirou nodded, " Oh...so is there any preliminary matches?"  
  
" Yep. But you can use any dance you want." The receptionist passed them a small card and said, " This is the entry card for the preliminary competition. Be sure to bring it on that day! The day of the preliminary competition is one month later, and if you get into the competition, you will be given another month to prepare again. So good luck!"  
  
Misaki nodded and smile, " Hai, arigatou gozaimasu!"  
  
" A month to prepare for the preliminary match..." Hatoko muttered. Oujirou was frowning slightly, " We have to start now...dance is not very easy to prepare."  
  
Misaki nodded, " So, let's go back to my house then."  
  
Hatoko nodded, " We have to come up with the item for the preliminaries first."  
  
--  
  
" Oujirou-kun!"  
  
Oujirou looked up from the Layer as Misaki came running towards him with Hatoko behind her.  
  
" Gomen nasai, Oujirou-kun!" Misaki apologized, " I need to do some chores before going out, so I'm a little late..."  
  
Oujirou smiled at Misaki, " Daijoubu, I had only just arrived."  
  
But Hatoko smirked knowingly and Oujirou shot her a glare. Sighing slightly, Oujirou took off his headpiece and gestured for Hatoko and Misaki to sit down.  
  
" As we had decided yesterday, we are going to do a simple waltz. I had already chosen the music for it but I'm not sure whether you will like it." Oujirou started, reaching over to another smaller table handed Misaki and Hatoko earphones.  
  
Hatoko blinked and looked at Oujirou, " Earphones?"  
  
" This is to make sure that no one knows what item we are doing," Oujirou explained, " I always take this precaution when I was a much younger player in Angelic Layer. This will ensure that no one is able to copy or cheat."  
  
Misaki nodded and put the earphones on. Then Oujirou pressed the 'Play' button.  
  
--  
  
" So, how are we going to plan out the dance?" Misaki asked, pulling the earphones out.  
  
At this, Oujirou smiled, " Misaki-chan, remember how we first met?"  
  
Misaki nodded while Hatoko gave Oujirou a curious look. Oujirou continued, " Wizard helped Hikaru finish the dance, right?"  
  
Misaki nodded again and Oujirou's smile widened, " Did you make Hikaru dance by instinct?"  
  
Misaki frowned a little, " Ano...I don't really know. I just listen to the rhyme of the music and Hikaru will start dancing."  
  
Hatoko clapped her hands together, " I see! Misaki-chan had a natural talent for this!"  
  
Oujirou nodded, " Therefore we will have a easy time with this. So shall we try it out now?"  
  
Misaki put on her headpiece and nodded determinedly. Oujirou put his headpiece on, remarking that the music will be played through the headpiece. Hatoko put on the earphones on, nodded at the other two and pressed the 'Play' button.  
  
Hikaru and Wizard started dancing, moving with the rhyme of the music and stepping together at each beat.  
  
When the music ended, Hatoko clapped and smiled at the two of them, " This is great! The two of you really work together!"  
  
Misaki's eyes widened in delight, " Honto?" She turned towards Oujirou and smiled happily at him, " I love the music, Oujirou-kun! Hikaru moved very well with it!"  
  
Oujirou flushed and he stuttered, " Uh- Thanks..."  
  
Hatoko smiled somewhat evilly at Oujirou as Misaki chatted happily to him. ' Aha, if I am not wrong...Oujirou-san might be--'  
  
" Hatoko-san," Oujirou said suddenly, giving her an ' I-know-what-are-you- thinking-look' look and smiled, " Do you think we should improve on anything?"  
  
Hatoko nodded, " Although this dance the two of you performed is great, it is still a first try. We must improve on the dance steps and the patterns before we can make it official." She leaned in and smiled at them, " And we must do this secretly."  
  
Misaki blinked, " So we can't practice in the public layers anymore?"  
  
Hatoko nodded and Oujirou said, " I agree to that too. So where are we going to practice then?"  
  
" How about my house?" Misaki suggested, " My aunt goes out very early in the morning for work, leaving the house free for us the whole day."  
  
" But we have school, right?" Oujirou said. Hatoko nodded, " Yes, but usually school's until afternoon. And besides that, there are also weekends."  
  
" Okay, so it's decided, Misaki-chan's house will be our training place from today onwards." Oujirou said.  
  
--  
  
~ Tsuzuka  
  
--  
  
Okay, sucky ending...  
  
Anyway, hope you guys like this story...there will be more action for Oujirou-kun and Misaki-chan!!  
  
Up Next:  
  
Hatoko confirmed her assumption.  
  
Oujirou was embarrassed.  
  
Misaki was clueless.  
  
Ichiro was planning something evil for his dearest brother.  
  
And we get to see what the other Angelic Layer players were doing.  
  
Interested? Well, wait for the next chapter!!  
  
And, once again, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!! 


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